Strawberry tree

Arbutus unedo

Family · Ericaceae · Harmless

Edible

Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) — Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0

The tree that flowers and fruits at once, in autumn: white bells beside last year's red fruit. This is the tree behind medronho spirit.

Where it grows

Scrubland · Uplands · Oak woods · Pine woods

Also known as

Irish strawberry tree

In flower

In fruit

How to tell it

A round red fruit covered in bumps, like a small rough strawberry. Hard, glossy, saw-edged leaves. Brownish bark that peels in thin strips.

What it is confused with

Tree heath

Erica arborea

Harmless confusion

Same family, same scrub, same white bell flowers, which fools anyone not looking at the leaf. Tree heath has fine needle leaves; strawberry tree has broad glossy toothed leaves. Neither is dangerous.

Open sheet →Side by side

What it is for

The ripe fruit is traditionally eaten raw and is the raw material of medronho spirit, with certified production in the Algarve and inland sierras. Very ripe fruit ferments on the tree, hence the Spanish name borrachín.

Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.

Where it occurs

Iberian Peninsula

Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.

Sources

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